Clowe practices, Halak gets the call for Blues in Game 1 and the Sharks head to St. Louis

The news of the day: Ryane Clowe, as expected, returned to the practice ice Wednesday before the team boarded the charter flight to St. Louis for Game 1 against the Blues on Thursday.

“I’ll be out there tomorrow, too,” said Clowe, who has been dealing with some undisclosed ailment. “I’m ready to go.”

Clowe was the last question mark for the Sharks, health-wise, heading into the playoffs. In fact, San Jose is just about as healthy as can be expected as the postseason begins.

“Everybody looks good and looks healthy,” Joe Thornton said. “Let’s get it going.”

In fact, the Sharks seemed a little antsy Wednesday — like they were ready to play tonight and would have preferred not to have to wait the extra day.

“I want to play,” Thornton added. “But it’s also good to get all the nicks and little bruises healed. I think this break is going to be beneficial.”

*** Back in St. Louis, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock made it official: Jaroslav Halak will be the goaltender in Game 1. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since it was revealed Tuesday that Brian Elliott is nursing a minor upper-body injury.

But for their part, the Sharks made it clear they expect to see both of the goaltenders, who had equally brilliant seasons, at some point in this series.

“They have two and they chose one,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “Now it’s time to play. They certainly have two who are capable of playing and probably two that will play. We have to be prepared for both.”

Added Clowe: “Both goalies seem pretty similar. Between those two guys, it’s going to be a tough coaching decision about who to play. They’ve both been great this year. But for us it really doesn’t matter. Whichever goalie we play, we know they both have had a hell-of-a season. They both have confidence.”

Thornton said that no matter which goaltender is between the pipes, the strategy won’t change. Get traffic in front of the crease. Launch pucks toward the net.

“It’s always the same no matter who the goalie is,” he added. “But they’re both top-end goaltenders who are tough to beat.”

*** The Sharks will be seeing a couple of old friends in this series, playing against center Scott Nichol and defenseman Kent Huskins. Those two players, who left the Sharks after last season, can help add information on the Blues’ scouting report of San Jose.

“Potentially that could help them, absolutely,” McLellan said. “We’ve been in that situation, asking the ex-teammates of Colorado questions when they were in here not long ago.”

McLellan is referring to how the Sharks consulted with Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi before a late-season matchup with their former team, the Avalanche.

“Coaches will access players’ knowledge” McLellan said. “But in a seven-game series, there’s not a lot of surprises between the two teams. I don’t know how much of their knowledge can help. Every team is in the midst of evolution. We might not be the same team that we were last year at this time.”

*** DP is flying to St. Louis today. He’s got some really good stuff coming, including a story about how the Sharks, belatedly, are playing more like the team that general manager Doug Wilson had envisioned. Included, I’m sure, will be an examination of how the team has played much better when Marty Havlat is in the lineup and how defenseman Brent Burns has looked more comfortable in recent weeks.

Finally, just a friendly reminder to please keep Working The Corners a clean and respectful corner of the Web as the playoffs begin. The postseason is all about passion, and everyone is entitled to their opinions. But let’s try to express those and articulate differences in a way that’s more like a dialogue and less like a shout-fest.

@Elf 187 — White’s points as a Shark only(??!!) extrapolate to only 35 for a season. Brent Burns had 37 points and he’s paid twice as much as Ian White.

I think you’re arguing the other side Elf, but you’re helping my case.

Hatrick Marleau

ZEKE,

Burns is not paid twice as much. He is paid 3.5mil. He is 6-5 230lbs. He clears the net, plays physical, moves the puck well, and has a bomb from the point. He is playing on the 2nd PP unit and the Sharks had a bit of a down year. If the Sharks had white instead of Burns they would have missed the playoffs.

Buddy Elf

Brodie Brazil ‏ @brodiebrazilCSN
Couture on today: “It was a little tough to sleep last night. Watching those games and getting excited. ” #sjsharks

Receiving texts all night that say “What are you wearing?” from our resident stalker probably doesn’t help him get to sleep either.

—

ZEKE: White played during the best part of the Sharks season last year. But even then, his numbers don’t extrapolate to more than Burns. White had no points in the VAN series outside of PP. He was exposed when it mattered most.

Snow Shovel

#199 ZEKE – I agree about carryover penalties. Should be the rule.

Snow Shovel

New thread.

Long Time No Cup

When White was with the Sharks he looked like a professional hockey player: good puck handler, calm in traffic, good sense of what to do with the puck from the point. All positive.

But in the Vancouver series, the Shark defense was too small. The mantra–even WTC, that bastion of calm thoughtful analysis, saw an occasional complaint about the size of the D. Bulking up on the back end (something that comes naturally once you hit a certain age, I have to say) was on Wilson’s off-season to-do list.

Boyle and white are more or less functionally interchangeable. Not that they are equal in talent but if you are looking for a small skating offensive defenseman Boyle and White are two choices. Boyle had a big contract, White was a rent-a-player. QED: White went.

ZEKE

@202 — Burns signed a 5 year extension at $5.76mil/year. More than double Ian White’s deal at $2.75million/year. Even including this season, its $32million over 6 years for Burns — twice what Ian White makes.

As for White instead of Burns — who made it an either or? It was signing older guys like Handzus (for almost the same $$ as Ian White) that baffled me.

And as for guys getting ‘exposed’ in Vancouver — we outskated them in the last 3 games of the series — and oh yeah — Vancouver was good.

Buddy Elf

“And as for guys getting ‘exposed’ in Vancouver — we outskated them in the last 3 games of the series — and oh yeah — Vancouver was good.”

And White was nowhere to be found in all of that. THAT is the problem. I didn’t say he was horrible, I said he was ineffective in the playoffs, and he was, especially in the most important series.

hondr

White had no points in the VAN series outside of PP.

…well hey, the Sharks never score even strength, so he fit right in with them then. 😉

I’d agree White’s a role player, and it’s just a matter of how much whack-a-mole Wilson gave up to rent him for his role, before letting him walk for nothing.

ZEKE

I’m laughing at how the d-man paired with Nic Wallin is getting blamed for getting exposed!! Sorry, White was an effective player for us and anyone who makes their entire decision on a guy based on just a game or 2 is a fool. Vancouver wasn’t a weak team and while they did dominate us in the first 2 games (not many Sharks played well in those 2 games), we were the better skating team in the last 3. And White was solid.

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